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Interview Process – How to Identify the Right Talent

In our previous article, we discussed the employer brand and its importance in the recruiting process. In order to explore the talent identification process further, it is important to consider your interview process, and the questions you ask during an interview in order to identify the right candidate.

Candidate Interview

Interviewing potential employees is not an easy task! There are a lot of resources that can help hiring managers and business owners understand the legalities of the interview process, but it can be difficult to know the right questions to ask and how to properly evaluate candidates. As discussed in the previous article, completing a job analysis can help hiring managers identify the required skills and abilities which helps to form the job description. The job analysis can also help in formulating the right questions to ask during an interview to determine if candidates possess those specific skills and abilities. Having well-defined questions based on the requirements of the job will lead to more efficient and well-organized interviews, with the hope of successful hires.

For example, if it was determined during the job analysis that strong organizational skills are a job requirement, these are potential questions to ask in the interview process to evaluate their organizational skills:

How do you keep yourself organized?

How do you efficiently manage your time during your workday?

Tell me about a time when you had to multitask?

Tell me about a time when your organizational skills helped you succeed?

When evaluating the answers to these interview questions, listen for specific examples that demonstrate actions the candidate took in the situation they provide. If they do not readily provide an example, be sure to ask follow up questions in order to properly evaluate their skill set.

During the interview process, be sure to also evaluate the potential candidate for organizational culture fit. Determining this can be challenging but there are high costs associated with making the wrong hiring choice and can result in increased turnover. There are a few tips to keep in mind during the interview process in order to help determine cultural fit. First, has the candidate done their research on the organization? Do they ask engaging questions? Do they ask about employee training and development opportunities? Good candidates come prepared to impress. Second, be sure to ask questions about the candidates work style and what they are looking for in their next career move. Their answers may be indicative of how they would perform in your environment and on your team.

Contact us with any questions on how to help establish an interview process for your organization! Our next blog will explore the importance of the candidate experience – follow SDI to stay up to date on all news and blogs!